More lessons from boot camp about being a news entrepreneur

I’m on day five of News Entrepreneur Boot Camp at the Knight Digital Media Center (at the Univ. of Southern California) and I. AM. EXHAUSTED. After classes from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. they send us to the hotel with homework! These people were not kidding about whipping us into shape.

The assignments are geared at preparing us for a 5-minute presentation we are each giving to four potential funders Thursday morning. The funders includes a venture capitalist, two bankers, and an “angel.” Tonight I have to turn in my presentation, which is not ready to share, unfortunately.

But here’s what I’ve learned while preparing:

Invest in your readers by showing you read them (their comments) as much as they read you.

Create rules of engagement for your site to encourage the type of interaction you want to see.

Community engagement can create passionate content.

Showing an understanding of social networking is crucial to raising money today.

Use social networking to be everywhere and spend nothing.

For marketing and promotions, don’t do anything you cannot measure.

Mine data. Ask yourself what is the data in my field? How can I present it?

Think of competitors as potential collaborators.

The product is never the challenge. It’s getting the customer to write the check.